"To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible;
to be credible we must be truthful." - Edward R Murrow
Showing posts with label reporting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reporting. Show all posts

Journalism 101 : RECAP of Blogger vs Journalist

Posted in Labels: , , , , , , , , , | at 4:39 PM

The previous post included the video for Journalism 101: Blogger vs. Journalist.

In case the video didn't make the points clear enough here is what was learned:

  • Journalists can also double as bloggers, but a blogger isn't automatically a journalist.
  • Journalists go out and get their own interviews for articles, but when a journalist is blogging interviews are not required
  • Journalists must be objective when covering features or hard news stories. When a journalist is blogging it may be treated like an editorial: no interviews, opinion backed up by lots of secondary research and a strong argument.
  • Bloggers can include opinions within blog posts, journalists can include opinions when blogging as a blogger.
  • Objectivity is required for articles, but blog posts do not require complete objectivity.
  • Bloggers use articles as a basis for their blog posts, and are able to use articles from news sources in order to back up their arguments.
  • Articles are objective and get both parts of an argument.
My next BLOG post will go more in depth to the differences of blogging and being a journalist. I had thought the differences were quite apparent, but some people are going off on me and calling me a bad JOURNALIST for showing opinions in my BLOGS. Just because I'm a JOURNALIST doesn't mean I can't be a BLOGGER.

There's a good article to read specifically about this from Nieman Reports called "When Journalists Blog: How it changes what they do."

I would like to share a special note of encouragement that I received from my friend Kristen. Check out her blog 365 Brand New Days:









"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. " -- David Frost

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Journalism 101 with Zennie62's Nikky Raney & Josh Grattan

Posted in Labels: , , , , , , , | at 1:39 AM

Journalism 101: The difference between BLOGGING and being a JOURNALIST.





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Inverted Pyramid -- Nikky Raney

Posted in Labels: , , , , , , , , | at 9:15 PM

The "Inverted Pyramid" will always be important to journalism.


The inverted pyramid isn't just for the journalism world - the inverted pyramid can be applied to any piece of writing.


Where citizen journalists and bloggers get stuck - journalists get through just fine. Anyone can go to an event and write about it. Anyone can just sit in front of a computer screen and type away at the keyboard, add some hyperlinks, and click post - but it takes a lot more than just typing to produce something that is worth reading. A lot of what is posted on the web and marked as "news" is not WORTH reading, but it will be read anyway. Usually those posts get more criticism and aren't taken seriously, but the posts/blogs/articles/etc. that are worth reading use the inverted pyramid structure as a technique to keep the reader engaged.

The inverted pyramid was taught to me when I was 15-years-old.It may seem "old-fashioned," but the posts that I enjoy reading are the posts that follow this structure:


Okay Nikky, we get that it's important - but what IS it?

The inverted pyramid is a metaphor that journalists use to illustrate the placing of the most important information first within a text.

Anytime I write an article my first paragraph is usually ONE sentence. ONE sentence that includes "who, what, where, when, how."

When I was 15-years-old learning this made me confused, because I thought all paragraphs had to have at least three sentences. I thought introductions always needed to be long, but I realized that by keeping the introduction contained into ONE sentence that includes WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, HOW, it makes the person reading the piece more informed and more likely to continue to read on. If the person does not read on - at least the most important information was obtained.


"The inverted pyramid puts the most newsworthy information at the top, and then the remaining information follows in order of importance, with the least important at the bottom...readers can leave the story at any point and understand it, even if they don't have all the details."

So the first paragraph should be a sentence that sums up the entire piece of writing. That may seem hard if you haven't written it yet; some people wait to write their beginning paragraph (it's also called a LEAD) until the end. I always write my lead first, because even when I don't know what the whole article will look like the lead will keep me on track.

The next paragraph will usually back up the first.

The next ones usually include quotes, and other secondary research.

Then the final paragraph is usually short & sweet - it can also sum up the entire post again, but more often than not it gives a follow-up. When someone reads an entire piece of writing to the end - you wan't them to keep reading. When you end with a follow-up ending, the person is more likely to come back / check back to see the next post!

I have read through an article and wondered, "Okay what's the point?" If the point is in the beginning then there is less confusion.


Okay, so why does this matter?

People have short attention spans, and want to spend as little time as possible reading an article/story/etc. I mean, there are times when it doesn't matter how long it takes to read something, but generally the quicker the read the better (even Twitter understands with the 140-word limit).

"Many readers are impatient and want stories to get to the point immediately. In fast-breaking news situations, when events and circumstances may change rapidly, the pyramid allows the news writer to rewrite the top of the story continually, keeping it up-to-date." -- Chip Scanlan

Now, there are journalists/people who will argue that the inverted pyramid is not all that great. Those who argue against the inverted pyramid are usually the ones struggling to use it. It may sound easy, but for some it is not.

The inverted pyramid is most popularly used for newspaper articles, and it makes sense that I follow it - since I am a print/web journalist who has primarily written for newspapers. I am trying to better incorporate them into blog posts, because I have just recently been able to put my personality into my blog posts -- hell, saying "I" in posts is new to me.


----

I know that recently my posts are not what most expect from me, and I apologize for getting carried away. I was letting things get to my head, and that is why I retired from that topic with an objective post. I am a journalist who blogs, and I am also a blogger who reports. I hope that my Journalism 101 vlogs will be able to inspire others. Keep reading my posts at Zennie62.com - I can assure you the more experience I obtain from writing at Zennie62.com, the better prepared I will be for the world of journalism as a whole. I have had to re-evaluate the way I have been writing, and I have to remember to stay grounded. It's easy to get carried away and start to get personal with an objective piece. I am 20, and I still have time to learn, and thankfully I nip that power trip in the bud. I've moved on to bigger and better things, and The Future of Journalism is in good hands. I put my pride in-check, and I'm ready to acquaint myself with humility.



"Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire." -- William Penn

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Blogging is only a quick fix

Posted in Labels: , , , , , , , | at 7:05 PM


Blogging is only a quick fix.

I miss reporting. Blogging can only help me so much in my need for news spreading. I have noticed that I am finding all these ideas for articles. I am writing lists of people to interview, questions to ask, angles, etc. Then I remember that I don't exactly have a publication to publish to. My sources might accept that I am a student at New England School of Communications, and possibly saying I was a former freelancer for Fosters Daily Democrat may help, but when asking where the article will be published my answer would be, "uh...." Exactly.

Where would I be publishing this?
This is why I miss school, because I could write for the campus paper and I was around many other outlets where I could have my work published. Just posting the articles to this blog or to the other blog would not do much. Anything that I am going to report about is not something that I can pass off on a blog.

Blogging has really taught me the difference between BLOGGING and REPORTING. I am a journalist who blogs, but these blogs are not articles. I need that fix. I need to go out and interview, I need to do the research, I need to get that rush of meeting that deadline, or editing another article.

Blogging is a quick fix. Blogging is something that I can do while I wait to get that opportunity. I am looking for opportunities, but I am also well aware that I need my degree in order to get the job that I am most looking forward to.

I feel like I have all this experience and all this talent as well as all this built up yearning to report, interview, educate, edit, write, fact-check, publish, etc. I just want to go to school and keep learning. I love blogging, don't get me wrong.

But the feeling I get from posting a good blog entry cannot compare to the feeling I get when one of my articles is published. The work that goes into a blog entry and the work that goes into an article cannot even be compared.

I want to go out there with my digital voice recorder and get interviews. I want to be right there at the scene. The future of journalism is where you will find me, and I can assure you that this future is bright.

Blogging is a great past time. I enjoy blogging, but if I could pick between getting paid to sit at a computer and blog vs. going out to get interviews, uncovering scandals, meeting harsh deadlines, and having to copy-edit and fact-check 30 other stories: I will always pick the latter.

I am excited for the future.
I am excited for the experience I am going to gain.
I am excited for all the interviews, all the editing, all the reporting that is in my future.

I turn 20 in 18 days, and I am at such a high point right now.
I feel like I am in charge of my destiny and I can see success in my future.
And blogging is going to become a big part of the future of journalism,
but nothing can ever replace going out, getting the interview, writing the story, meeting that deadline, and having the information reach everyone.

Blogging will never replace reporting.
Bloggers will never replace reporters.
Blogging and Journalism (after contributing to both and experiencing both) seem so different to me. I have no doubt in my mind that the two can co-exist, and the future will be bright.

Look forward to my first WORD OF THE WEEK this weekend.
If you have any ideas that I should blog about or concerns please e-mail me


"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney

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